Chapter 501 - 335: Hidden Danger by the Waterfall

Chapter 501: Chapter 335: Hidden Danger by the Waterfall

After getting ashore, Lin Chen wrung out his wet pant legs. He wasn’t in a hurry to move on. Instead, he smiled and turned back to look at Jin Meiyan, who was a few meters away.

"Come on, you get to decide the plan for this trip. For example, which way to go, where to pick a spot for our shelter, what food to get, and so on. I won’t take the initiative."

She’d had two days to prepare and had crammed by watching Lin Chen’s previous videos. She now had a rough grasp of the basic concepts and at least knew the necessary steps for survival.

Even though it was only just approaching seven in the morning, by the time they explored the entire island, found a suitable spot for a shelter, and finished building it, it would most likely be dark.

Not to mention the hassle of finding food and starting a fire.

At that thought, she subconsciously glanced at Lin Chen. Seeing the faint smile on his face as he watched her, completely devoid of any nervousness or worry, her anxious heart finally began to settle.

"Th-then, let’s just wander around the island for a bit first, okay, Oppa?"

"Of course. I’ll follow your lead. Which way do you want to go?"

It was an unfamiliar island, after all. It wasn’t far from the mainland, and the water was very shallow. He couldn’t guarantee that some dangerous creature hadn’t swum over from the other side and taken up residence here, so clearing a path was a job he had to do.

Reaching back with his right hand, he pulled out the felling axe tucked into his belt. It was one of only two metal weapons he’d brought on this trip, the other being his old friend, the military knife.

Besides these two items, he had only brought a wooden slingshot.

The survival period was only three to five days. It was unlikely they would be hunting any medium or large game, so a slingshot would normally be sufficient.

Jin Meiyan looked around. The rocky beach, covered in gravel and shells, wasn’t very large. It was surrounded by a section of Mangrove Forest, and further inland was a normal forest. It seemed like any direction would be about the same.

She pinched her chin, recalling the strategy she’d put together last night. The primary goal was to secure a water source, and mountains usually had water—be it a creek or a waterfall. These were also places where animals gathered.

She stretched out her hand and pointed toward the center of the forest.

"Then... let’s go this way!"

Lin Chen nodded. Without a word, he gripped his felling axe and led the way, clearing a path.

’Since this is my island, I’ll definitely develop it in the future. Clearing a path ahead of time will save a lot of trouble later.’

The sharp axe swung left and right, cutting down all the weeds and shrubs blocking their path. He also casually chopped down a wooden stick over a meter long and handed it to Jin Meiyan.

"Use it as a walking stick. It’s tough walking in a purely wild environment like this, and it’s quite damp here, so it’s easy to slip."

The ground was covered in a thick layer of moss and fallen leaves. It was soft and spongy to step on, preventing even him from picking up his pace.

In this kind of environment, it was extremely difficult to find any traces of animal activity on the ground.

Forget wild animals; even the path they had just walked left almost no trace. The layer of leaves absorbed everything perfectly. A gust of wind, and all signs of them would vanish without a trace.

Fortunately, this situation didn’t last long. As the two of them gradually approached the center of the island and the terrain began to slope upward, the layer of fallen leaves noticeably thinned, revealing the tender green moss on the ground’s surface.

Lin Chen stopped and spread his arms, feeling the air for a moment.

"Did you notice?"

"Huh? What?"

Jin Meiyan blinked in confusion and mimicked him, spreading her arms wide.

A cool sea breeze wafted through the forest, carrying away some of the heat from their bodies.

"The wind?"

"That’s right, the wind."

Seeing that she hadn’t figured it out, Lin Chen didn’t intend to test her any further.

"This is an island, and the wind is always blowing over the sea. So, when there’s a mountain on an island, the wind is forced to split and blow along its sides."

"That’s probably why the layer of leaves was so thick where we just passed. Look, the ground here is basically normal, with just some dried spruce needles."

"A strong wind means a lower perceived temperature. By the sea, where the day-night temperature difference is relatively small, this has a huge impact. In other words, to stay warm, animals will likely choose to make their homes on the leeward side of the mountain."

"That’s the first point. The second is that the wind direction determines the direction of water flow. This means that the leeward side will also have a water source. So, as long as we find the leeward side of this hill and climb up, we should soon find water and traces of wild animals."

’He could figure out so much useful information just by spreading his arms and feeling the wind?’

A look of admiration appeared in Jin Meiyan’s eyes. "As expected of the two-time champion of *Wild Survival*. You’re amazing. What would I do if I were out here in the wild all by myself?"

After feeling the wind’s direction, she immediately changed course, heading ninety degrees away from it.

The wind was blowing along both sides of the hill, so by walking perpendicular to it, she would find the windless area. She at least had that much common sense.

Sure enough, after walking for another five or six minutes, the cool breeze in the air vanished without her noticing.

As they continued up the slope, the chirping of birds in the treetops grew more and more dense, and the low bushes would rustle from time to time.

The increasing signs of animal life proved that there was definitely a water source nearby!

「Fifteen minutes later.」

A pale purple, antenna-like fiddlehead fern came into view.

Jin Meiyan’s eyes lit up. She pointed at it and exclaimed excitedly, "A fiddlehead! I remember this!"

"Oppa, you talked about this in the last episode. The appearance of fiddleheads means we’re not far from a water source, right?"

"That’s right." Lin Chen smiled and nodded, giving her a thumbs-up. "You’ve done your homework. Finding a water source in less than an hour... you’re already better than most people."

"Hehe, not at all. It’s because you’re such a great teacher, Oppa. If I hadn’t been studying wilderness survival by watching your videos every night, I would have probably died of thirst by now!"

About thirty meters away, a small creek meandered through a rock crevice, flowing quietly. The surface of the rocks was covered in moss, glistening with moisture. You could tell just by looking that it was extremely slippery.

"We can’t drink the water here, it’s too shallow. Let’s head upstream and see if there’s a small pool or something."

The island might not look very big, but climbing the small hill was more exhausting than they had imagined.

Just as the two of them were about to reach the summit, they finally found a mini-waterfall with a drop of about one meter.

The waterfall was only as wide as an adult’s arm. It looked like a faucet that hadn’t been turned off completely.

By now, Jin Meiyan’s smooth forehead was covered in beads of sweat, her fair cheeks were flushed, and she was leaning on her walking stick, panting heavily.

"F-finally... we’re here! I’m exhausted!"

Her gaze was fixed on the clear pool beneath the mini-waterfall. She licked her delicate pink lips and instinctively wanted to rush forward and drink her fill.

She had only taken a few steps before Lin Chen yanked her back.

Before she could react, the world spun around her, and she fell into a hot, solid chest.

A strong, powerful heartbeat throbbed wildly in her ear, causing her own already racing heart to beat even faster.

’Wh-what’s happening right now?’

’She never would have dreamed that Lin Chen would suddenly pull her into his arms. Countless possibilities flashed through her mind in an instant, but she quickly ruled them out one by one.’

’If he were really the type of scumbag who would take advantage of a girl, he definitely wouldn’t do it in front of the camera. He had plenty of opportunities to send flirtatious signals while they were making dumplings.’

’But he hadn’t, which proved the situation was definitely not what she was imagining.’

Sure enough, Lin Chen gently helped her regain her balance and pushed her behind him, taking half a step forward to shield her.

Only then did she finally have the chance to stand up straight and peer through the gap over Lin Chen’s shoulder.

It was just a casual glance.

But when she saw the scene before her, she felt every hair on her body stand on end. An unparalleled fear and terror surged from the depths of her heart. She instinctively pressed herself against Lin Chen’s back, tightly clutching his shirt.

The waterfall was located on a rock fault, the kind of exposed rock layer caused by tectonic shifts. Many mountains have these structures, which look like eyes from a distance.

Right at the corner of the rock wall where the waterfall and pool were, a wild wolf about the size of a common mutt had half of its body exposed, its cold, sinister gaze fixed on them.

Its fur was a grayish-brown, blending in perfectly with the rock wall and the soil. You really couldn’t make it out without looking closely.

"It’s a Coyote."

Lin Chen tightened his grip on the felling axe. With his other hand, he gently patted the back of the girl’s hand, which was tightly clutching the corner of his shirt.

"Don’t be nervous. Coyotes are very timid. They’re also the smallest members of the wolf family in North America. They prefer to be solitary and usually only hunt small creatures. They don’t typically attack larger creatures, especially humans."

"Back when I was in Toronto, you’d occasionally see them on the city streets in winter. They almost always steer clear of people. I’ve never heard of one attacking a person."

"Take a deep breath. I’m here. Nothing will happen."

His voice was very low, but to Jin Meiyan’s ears, it was incredibly reassuring. Just a few words were enough to calm her panicked mind.

His back, which had seemed somewhat slender before, now appeared exceptionally broad, like a great mountain standing before her. It felt as if she would be safe from all danger as long as she hid behind him.

Lin Chen hadn’t expected his luck to be this good. Only an hour into the challenge, and he’d already encountered a wolf—the very animal the survey report said had an extremely low chance of being sighted, especially on a small island.

With Jin Meiyan there, he couldn’t risk making any sudden moves. He could only stare down the Coyote, letting out a threatening "grrr" sound from his throat, trying to scare it away.

Strangely, even after a standoff of a full five or six minutes, the creature showed no intention of moving. It just remained half-hidden behind the rock wall, staring intently at them.